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OTTAWA – The head of the CBC is floating the idea of taking a percentage of every cable or satellite bill in Canada as a way to get the state broadcaster more money.

The comments came during a town hall meeting last week where CBC president Hubert Lacroix was discussing plans for 657 job cuts and changes in the wake of CBC’s loss of NHL hockey broadcasts.

During a question and answer session, Lacroix suggested a CBC tax similar to that in Britain. The BBC is funded through a fee on every television in Britain, and in Lacroix’s mind that money should come from cable and satellite companies, known in the industry as BDUs.

“Imagine if in Canada the BDUs decided to give us three or four or five percent of whatever bottom line number and they committed to that over years, maybe that could be something,” Lacroix said.

A CBC spokesman declined to comment on whether the idea has been discussed with the government or industry leaders but did confirm it is something they are considering.

“Our goal is to achieve financial sustainability that allows us to evolve with our audience and stakeholders,” spokesman France Belisle said.

“The CBC already receives significant taxpayer funds. They can operate within their existing budget,” Marisa Monnin said. “According to the CBC, it is declining viewership that is causing their challenges. It is up to the CBC to provide programming that Canadians actually want to watch.”